Pack for surgical plaster casts or the like



Feb. 4, 1941- E. E. LONGFELLOW PACK FOR SURGICAL PLASTER CASTS OR THE LIKE Filed NOV. 17, 19158 W 6 INVENTOR.

V ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE PACK FOR SURGICAL PLASTER CASTS OR THE LIKE Earl E. Longfellow, Warsaw, Ind., assignor to Harry Herschel Leiter, Warsaw, Ind.

Application November 17, 1938, Serial No. 241,007

2 Claims.

This invention relates to packs for surgical plaster casts or bandages, and an object thereof is to afford an expedient whereby to facilitate subsequent removal of a plaster cast or bandage 5 from an injured member of a patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide a surgical cast or bandage for confining an injured member of a patient, so constructed that the cast may be readily separated in parts without danger of injury from use of instruments that ordinarily are applied to sever such casts after convalescence for the purpose of removal thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention appear in the following description.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a pack-strip in which the invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a plaster cast applied to the arm of a patient with the packstrip encased therein; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through a plaster cast in which the pack-strip is included and also a member of a patient encased in the pack, the

section being through the radius and ulna.

The pack-strip herein disclosed is applicable to distal members of the body as well as the torso and may be used generally in applying plaster jackets or casts to the various members of the body.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention consists of a single strip l of pliant material such as rubber or of other substance that may readily be severed as with a knife. The strip, in crosssection, preferably is arcuate and the sides thereof are gradually tapered to a thin edge 2. Throughout the length of the strip there is a hollow closed channel 3, and the lower portion of the strip has therein a continuous slit 4 extending into the channel so there are unattached normally abutting faces 5 that extend throughout the length of the strip. In this structure one side of the strip, along said faces, is freely separable from the opposite side thereof throughout its length below said channel. The top portion 6 of the strip, above the channel, is continuous from one side to the other, said side portions being initially integral at the top.

In use, the injured member of the patient preferably is first covered by a wrapping I of stockinet or a similar covering, and then, over the covering is laid one or more of the strips I lengthwise with respect to the injured part of the limb, and after which there is applied around the injured member and encompassing the previously laid strips a plaster bandage 8, or a mass of plaster of Paris, in such manner as to encase the injured member together with the covering and the strips, leaving the ends of the strips exposed. After convalescence the plaster jacket is removed by applying a sharp knife or other suitable tool through the outer portion of the jacket that overlies .the outermost portion of the strip, the cut of the tool being directed into the channel 3. As a precautionary measure, if so desired, there may be inserted in the channel throughout its length a flexible cord or cable (not shown) whereby the cutting instrument is prevented from reaching down through the channel onto the flesh of the incased limb. When the jacket and the top portion of the strip are parted by the cutting instrument along the entire lengths of the strips, the parts of the jacket are readily removable from the injured member separately because of the unum'ted abutting faces of the inner portion of the strips.

Variations from the particular construction above disclosed may readily be made by exercise of engineering skill without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention, and the following claims are intended to be inclusive of such variations.

What I claim is:

l. A surgical pack-strip for use in connection with a plaster cast, said pack-strip being formed of pliant material shaped to have thin lateral edges and a comparatively thick middle portion provided with a channel that extends throughout the length thereof and is completely encompassed by the material of which the pack-strip is formed, there being a completely closed longitudinal slit made in the bottom of said pack-strip that extends into said channel throughout its length.

2. A surgical pack-strip for a plaster cast, said pack-strip being formed of pliant material and having a longitudinal channel formed therein extending throughout the length thereof, the bottom portion of said pack-strip underlying said channel having made therein a slit that is completely closed throughout its length when said pack-strip is in place on an injured member and encompassed by a plaster-cast.

EARL E. LONGFELLOW. 

